Pictured (L-R): District 12 Rep., Brian Best, and District 6 Senator, Craig Williams, during the Feb. 19, 2022 Carroll Chamber of Commerce Legislative Forum.
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Last week, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill increasing the state’s funding for public school systems by 2.5 percent, and local legislators explained their support for this amount at Saturday’s Carroll Chamber of Commerce Legislative Forum at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). Barb Middendorf, a special education instructor at Coon Rapids-Bayard, questioned District 12 Representative, Brian Best, and District 6 Senator, Craig Williams, why they did not back more than the additional $159 million in K-12 funding that was approved. Middendorf says 2.5 percent simply is not enough to maintain the quality of education Iowans have come to expect.
Best says the legislature has been very supportive of increasing school funding for at least the last decade, but it is important to remember public education makes up more than half of the state’s budget.
Best notes he is not willing to put his support behind the governor’s proposal to create a state scholarship program for parents wanting to move their children to a private school unless additional protections are made to ensure adequate funding for small, rural schools.
According to Williams, the state has either met or exceeded the rate of inflation for additional school funding for quite some time, excluding this year.
Williams adds data show the claim that teachers in Iowa are undercompensated does not hold up when compared to other Iowa households.
According to Williams, the last time education funding was cut was in 2010 under former Governor, Chet Culver. Other topics discussed during Saturday’s forum included adjusting the state’s bottle/can redemption program, foreign ownership of Iowa properties and tax changes. Full audio from the forum can be found included below.
FULL AUDIO: